The three important market structures in economics are competitive markets, monopolies, and oligopolies. Each market plays a different role in the economy. Competitive markets are when no firm has the power to affect the market price of a good and “many buyers and sellers trading identical products so that each buyer and seller is a price taker” (Mankiw, 290). A monopolistic market is when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a certain good. An oligopoly is a market in which a good has only a few “similar or identical” (Mankiw, 346) products for sale.…
The structure of a market is defined by the number of firms that are competing in that market, along with factors such as: the ways in which these firms are alike or different, and the obstacles that exist in any new firms entering that market. In this report I will discuss Competitive Markets, Monopolies, and Oligopolies. I will point out what role each of the market structure play in the economy. This report will list the characteristics of each market structure. I will share how the price is determined in each market structure in terms of maximizing profits. This report will share how the output is determined in each market structure in terms of maximizing profits. I will share what the barriers are to the entries.…
In the late nineteenth century, the United States of America saw companies flourish. Advances in technology greatly increased output and lowered costs of many goods; people were also making more money and the nation was truly prospering. Due to the booming economy, a great deal of changes occurred. Companies started to grow at a faster rate, and soon there were enormous companies that seemed to rule their individual industries. It quickly became apparent that some firms were monopolizing the industries, making prices higher and lessening the competitiveness of the market. Many companies were also fixing prices, forcing other businesses to pay ridiculous amounts since they had no other options.…
Oligopoly industries having a few large firms gain market power. In oligopoly industries government regulation and enforcement of industrial and social regulation curtail the few firms controlling the market from the possibility of setting unfair prices, limiting competition and collusion resulting in low quality, lower production and higher prices.…
To consider different roles in the economy we will have to look at competitive markets, monopolies, and oligopolies. We will discuss in this paper exactly how each of these roles play a part in our economy. Some of the things we will discuss are the characteristics of each of these market structures, along with how price is determined in each of these structures. Other topics will include how the output of each market structure is determined in terms of maximizing profits. The last two things we will look at are the barriers to entry if and ultimately the role in which each market structure plays in this economy.…
The business world is very competitive and it never rest. “Antitrust law is a field designed to promote business competition by curbing anti-competitive behavior such as price fixing and monopolization (Hammel, 2014)”. There are anti-trust and business ethics in place for business competition and regulated as well by the government.…
Monopoly’s market type occurs when there is one firm providing a unique manufactured good without similar substitutes. Entry into a monopoly type market is difficult and nonprice competition is unnecessary. “Nonprice competition involves firms trying to gain an advantage over one another by differentiating their products (Keat and Young, 2009).” Becoming the only business providing the service or product means that the public specifically has to purchase from this one company. An example of a monopoly would be the Public Utility Commission (PUC) in California. Unlike Texas, where residents have many companies to choose from for electricity, California receives their power bill from one central company.…
17. Historically, government has protected businesses against trusts, monopolies, and price fixing. How has government’s role been changed to allow corporate domination in such industries as cattle-raising and meat processing?…
Q3. Given the products that Tesco sells (largely necessities), why have sales been falling, despite household’s tight budgets?…
Not everyone has a “get out of jail free” card in life; unless of course they are playing the classic family board game, Monopoly. Those who monopolize a specific market most definitely do not have a “get out of jail free” card, as they are committing felonies. Both of these different monopolies are a great pleasure to win, but a pain to lose. In this paper I will compare and contrast these two different forms of monopolization.…
The contextual influence that may pose the greatest challenge to companies’ competiveness is the government. The government has laws…
Welcome to Microeconomics 1. In this unit of study, we intend to introduce you to the particular principles, language, techniques and insights associated with an economic perspective of the modern world. The following quotation by John Galbraith underlines the ubiquitous relevance of economics:…
“Open markets, it is believed, provide fertile ground for a healthy economy by encouraging mew investment, job creation, stable prices, and a reliable marketplace” (Monopolies and antitrust, 1999). Antitrust laws are able to regulate the businesses so that no company can be the sole producer of a product. The term antitrust comes from the nineteenth century when “the trusts single-handedly controlled the nation’s most important markets, crushing all competitors, dictating prices, and erratically supplying goods and services to consumers” (Monopolies and antitrust, 1999). In a time when the nation was moving from agriculture to industry base, the lack of legal rules paved the way for the trusts such as Standard Oil and J.P. Morgan. They fixed their prices to eliminate their competitors, and then when they were out of business, the big businesses would increase their prices back up. “Many Americans began denouncing the trusts as the enemy of civil society and free enterprise, the press described Stand Oil as a menacing octopus with tentacles stretching across the country, and political unrest exacerbated the need for government intervention” (Kleiner, 2011). “Consumers were powerless, as were…
Throughout the years, there have been numerous debates on the necessity of regulation of accounting standards. The two opposing views to setting these standards are one that is based on regulations and the other based on market forces. In this report, we will discuss the supporting views and arguments of both methods and further justify the method that I personally favor.…
Free markets have often been idealized in the US, and have become a dominant tool for trade and distribution of goods and services. There have been multiple waves of government regulation and deregulation of the market in US history. Each of these trends have been grappling with the central question of how sufficient markets are at satisfying our goals. In theory, free markets are fair and efficient at distributing goods and services. In reality, however, government must intervene in the marketplace for two overarching reasons. First, because in practice free markets left to themselves are not always fair and efficient. And second, because fairness and efficiency are not our only goals and values as a society.…